Welsh Conservatives have called on the Welsh Government to consider establishing a capitalisation fund to assist local authorities in managing the impact of Covid-19 (Coronavirus) and the services provided.
Despite the Welsh Government receiving an additional £95 million from the UK Government after English local councils received a boost of £1.6 billion to fight Covid-19, the Welsh Government has yet to announce if or how that many will be given to councils in Wales. Currently, Councils in Wales are predicting that they will lose £33 million a month from loss of income due to Covid-19.
Raising the matter during yesterday’s virtual Plenary session, Shadow Minister for Local Government and Communities, Mark Isherwood AM, said:
“The Welsh Government must fully support local councils and there needs to be other options available to councils to continue running services. Capitalisation for example allows for specified revenue expenditure to be viewed as capital expenditure, and so can be funded from capital resources such as borrowing, to provide financial flexibility to meet unexpected one-off costs.
“At this time, with the warnings from a number of local authorities about their financial resources, flexibility is more key than ever.
“The Welsh Government must look at all options to mitigate the impact that the Coronavirus pandemic is inflicting – and will continue to inflict – on all sectors of life in Wales, not least of which is on local authorities.
“Local authorities provide many of the essential non-medical services we all rely on, supporting the most vulnerable through social care, through community support and enabling schooling for key workers. We cannot afford to let the effect of this virus damage their ability to run as effectively and efficiently as they can.”
ENDS
